Mike Taylor, 36, is a graphic designer
and has been organising long-distance swims for the last four years. This
year on 29 September he took part in a 38-mile swimming race in California.
He has multiple sclerosis.

"I like to keep fit, it's a vanity
thing. The last thing I want to become is a big porker. I like it when
people say 'God you look fit'. I love water – when I was two, my uncle
chucked me in. I don't see myself as disabled now, I'm just Mike, who happens
to have multiple sclerosis. I have a wheelchair, so what? I was diagnosed
with MS in 1993; at first I had a mild limp. I've always been mad for sport
– I was a county-standard rugby player. I had a big racing bike and I hung
onto it as long as I could. I fixed a bit of string to the gear lever so
I could continue to use it.

I started swimming at Tooting Bec
Lido – my condition's better the colder I am – but I got bored of swimming
up and down. I swam the English Channel with a team of six, and then from
Minorca to Mallorca. The next year we went to the States for a 38-mile
swim from Catalina Island to Santa Monica, California – well, where would
you rather swim?

There are some pretty big fish out
there – we have guard launches and radars, but they didn't pick up the
dolphins that swam with us. It's a relay – there are eight international
teams this year and the standard is incredible. There's one swimmer with
MS in each team. It's so empowering – for able-bodied and disabled people.
We have some of the fastest swimmers in the UK – former Olympic medallist
Duncan Goodhew will be swimming alongside me.

We swim through the night – I get
picked up and thrown in, I don't have a choice. When I hit the water, I
feel I can be as fast as anybody else. I can twizzle, I can float – the
freedom's fantastic.

"I'm really competitive. A friend
started swimming faster than me and I said 'Well that's not fair, you use
your legs'. He said, 'A win's a win' – now that to me is a true friend."